The overlooked P.J. Tucker of the Phoenix Suns

In any occupation, a person who doesn’t fit the prototype description often has his or her talents overlooked.

In the NFL, it happened with quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Drew Brees, who were “too short” to play the position. Many teams ignored their skills, yet they still went on to post impressive accomplishments.

Successful wing players in the NBA are thought to be well-built, long, good creators and excellent outside shooters.

When you look at Phoenix Suns guard/forward P.J. Tucker, who is listed at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, you see a bulky, thick player who is a poor shooter.

His abilities aren’t natural for his position, but it doesn’t mean it can’t work. It actually worked really well for Phoenix last year.

When Tucker was on the court, the Suns were 2.7 points better per 100 possessions offensively and 3.4 points better defensively — good for a total of six points.

Even though last season was only the 28-year-old Tucker’s second in the league, I would argue he has already established himself as an elite NBA defender.

Tucker guarded point guards, shooting guards and small forwards with extreme success. Here’s is a chart with numbers from NBA.com that show the significance of his defense:

Opponent

FG Made Tucker On

FG Attempts Tucker On

FG% Tucker On

FG Made Tucker Off

FG Attempts Tucker Off

FG% Tucker Off

James Harden - HOU

16

38

.421

13

25

.520

Chris Paul - LAC

4

10

.400

12

22

.545

LeBron James - MIA

5

13

.385

13

24

.542

Paul Pierce - BOS

5

14

.357

1

1

1.000

Joe Johnson - BKN

5

14

.357

3

5

.600

Carmelo Anthony - NYK

5

15

.333

6

12

.500

Kobe Bryant - LAK

7

29

.241

11

20

.550

Kevin Durant - OKC

26

53

.491

11

23

.478

TOTAL

73

183

.390

70

132

.530

That is a list of some of the elite offensive players in the NBA. When Tucker was playing, they combined to shoot 39 percent compared to 53 percent when he wasn't playing.

What sets Tucker apart from most defenders are his size and incredible foot speed -- it gives him the ability to stay in front quicker players while also having the strength to battle the bullies.

Offensively, I would expect current head coach Jeff Hornacek to make better use of Tucker's unique skills than the previous staff did.

His unusual foot speed that lets him guard smaller players -- meaning those same players also have to defend him. Tucker can be used a significant amount in the post, as an off-ball screener and on-ball screener.

His shooting is going to need to improve; a .525 true shooting percentage isn't going to cut it.